PP0552 DATE
THE LOST AND FOUND CHAPTER!
Luke 15:1-32; Luke 16:19-31.
INTRODUCTION: There are certain chapters of the Bible that are known by certain titles:
Genesis 1 - The Creation Chapter.
Exodus 12 - The Passover Chapter,
1 Samuel 17 - David and Goliath Chapter.
Psalm 23 – The Shepherd Chapter.
1 Corinthians 13 - The Love Chapter.
Hebrews 11 - The Faith Chapter.
I’ll be using a portion of Chapter 16 also.
In this Lost and Found Chapter there are four possessions that are lost.
The Sheep was lost unintentionally.
The Silver was lost by the fault of another.
The Son was lost wilfully.
The Soul was lost foolishly. Chapter 16
If you are lost today it will be for one of these reasons or a combination of any of them. Remember the entire Godhead, The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit are involved in your salvation.
Jesus uses the example of the shepherd going and looking for the lost sheep. That is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The woman with the candle and the broom sweeping the house is a picture of the Holy Spirit.
The father of the prodigal is a picture of God the Father.
Someone said it like this:
The Father thought it.
The Son wrought it.
The Holy Spirit brought it.
Glory to God I’ve got it.
The wages of sin are seen in each of these instances. Rom 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
James 1:15 "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
The sheep finishes in the wilderness.
The silver finishes in the dark.
The son finishes in a far country.
The soul finishes in hell.
To really understand this chapter you must understand what it means to be lost. It means not to be in the hands of God, but to be totally out of God’s love and mercy.
The sheep was not in the hands of the shepherd. That is why it was lost.
The silver was not in the woman’s hands. That is why it was lost.
The son was not in the father’s house. That is why he was lost.
The sinner was not saved. That is why he was lost.
It also means to be eternally separated from God.
Without God there is no light.
Without God there is no way to be rescued.
Without God there is nothing.
It means you are headed for destruction.
Let’s examine this and learn what God has for us today. There is always something for everyone in the Word of God, thus, let God give you what He has for you.
I. THE LOST SHEEP Vs. 4-7.
Lu 15:4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
5 And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
6 And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
7 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. (KJV)
A. The Sheep Knew It Was Lost But It Didn’t Know How Go Get Back To The Shepherd.
1. The community around knows there is something missing in their life, but they do not know how to find it.
2. We could go to the busiest intersection in town and begin stopping cars and asking the people how to go to heaven and not one in fifty would know.
My wife called a local minister once and asked him how she could go to heaven. He stammered around and finally said, “You must search.” He didn’t say what one must search for.
Most of the world does not know how to get to Jesus. Most of those that do know don’t want to do what the Bible says.
B. The Good Shepherd Went After The Lost Sheep.
If we could get ninety nine out of one hundred today we would be satisfied. If we lived in a town with 100 people and we got 99 of them saved, every preacher in America would be calling us and asking, “How did you do it?” But the Good Shepherd was not satisfied until He found that one that was missing.
1. The Good Shepherd is searching for you today. The Good Shepherd is a picture of Jesus. 1 Pet 5:4 "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away."
a. The intensiveness of His search. Vs. 4 of our text says, “Until he find it.” He wasn’t satisfied with the majority of his flock. He wanted all to be with him.
b. The tender care after He found it.
(1) No rebuke.
(2) “He layeth it on his shoulder, rejoicing.”
He didn’t give it a road map and tell it to find its own way home. Many would say, “You made your bed, now lay in it.”
c. The fellowship around the finding. Vs. 6, “calleth together His friends.”
Heaven cannot stop its ears at the cry of a lost soul.
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.”
2. Mat 9:36 "But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd."
3. God calls and calls and will continue to call until the Spirit withdraws from you. Following the withdrawing of the Spirit you will never have another opportunity to be saved. Gen 6:3 "And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years."
II. THE LOST SILVER Vs. 8-9
Lu 15:8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?
9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. (KJV)
If we would just this same principle with “No One Left Behind” we would see greater results. “She sought it diligently.” She made a big issue over the fact that she had found it.
A. The Silver Didn’t Know It Was Lost; Therefore It Wasn’t Concerned.
We don’t see very many people coming in here burdened with conviction of their sin and wanting to get saved. That doesn’t happen very often.
This woman had lost one-tenth of what she had.
B. Those Who Don’t Know They Are Lost Are The Hardest To Reach.
1. The good husband. He doesn’t see the need for Christ.
2. The good neighbor. He doesn’t see the need for salvation.
3. The person who knows he is a sorry sinner can be won when he is convinced that God loves him. However, the good person doesn’t see any need for redemption.
When we tell them that “all have sinned” they reject it personally.
C. The Silver Was Lost Through The Fault Of Another.
When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden every person that would follow later would be a sinner likewise. Rom 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:"
Psa 51:5 "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."
You are a sinner, and you need do nothing more to be a condemned sinner. You are condemned already because you have not believed on the Son of God.
Man is of no value to God without Jesus Christ. When man faces this fact, then he realizes he must meet Christ at the Cross.
D. The Woman Is A Picture Of The N.T. Church.
1. The candle is the gospel.
2. The sweeping is the Holy Spirit.
3. The purpose of the N.T. Church is to “Go into all of the world preaching the gospel.”
This woman swept “the house”, every room. Not one place was ignored. She must find the missing coin. Luke 15:9 "And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost."
III. THE LOST SON Vs. 11-14.
Lu 15:11 And he said, A certain man had two sons:
12 And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.
13 And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.
14 And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. (KJV) He reached his wits end – no place to turn – that’s where God wants you. He is waiting for every person to reach their wits end.
A. The Son Knew He Was Lost And Also Knew How To Get Back Home.
There is no Good Shepherd going after him. There is no woman with a light sweeping or searching.
He is on his own. He is a backslider or a Christian outside of the will of God. He has gone back into the world.
B. Vs. 17, “When He Came To Himself....” He Woke Up. He Finally Realized.
Somewhere - sometime - by some means the far away son will wake up.
The father didn’t try to stop him from going.
The son thought, “I’m not going very far. Just a little way, then I’m coming home.”
You young people listen to me. You will get to the age when you think that you know more than dad and mom know. You will be a fool when that idea begins to control your thinking. When that happens then you will begin to make plans and such to get out of the home because you can’t stand to stay around adults that are so dumb. Guess who is the dumb one? “Put your finger on your nose.” You are touching the dumb one if you have begun to try to out guess your parents.
Sin will take you farther than you intended to go; it will keep you longer than you expected to stay, and it will cost you more than you wanted to pay. Do you want to see where rebellion will take you. Go down to skid-row and look at those who are laying there in the vomit and filth. Society calls them homeless, the Bible calls them rebellious. They have a home somewhere if they want to follow the rules of the home, but most of them don’t want to do so. There they are sleeping with the hogs. This young man of the Scripture was not much older than some of you. He thought he could out guess and out think his dad. How wrong he was.
1. This is the picture of a Christian going back into the world.
2. Notice how far he had to go before he came to himself.
3. For the first time in his life he is hungry.
4. For the first time in his life he knows what it is to be in want.
5. For the first time in his life he knows what it means to be out of the father’s love.
He went into the world on his own decision, and he must return the same way. A Christian that continues on in sin hasn’t gotten sick of sin yet. When they get sick enough of sin, they will come to themselves. They will wake up.
He realized that the best the world had to offer wasn’t as good as the worst of his father’s house.
Is there a backslider here today that needs to come back to the Lord? Don’t wait until tomorrow. Don’t wait until there is a better time. Come back today.
Prov 13:15 "Good understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard."
Most prodigals don’t believe that the way of the transgressor is hard. If they did they would never leave the father’s house. Ask the young woman who is 17 years old, living on the street, pregnant, hooked on dope, disease has taken over her body, her baby will be born deformed, blind or born dead. Get her to tell how hard the way of the transgressor is.
Talk to the high school boy who thought his dad and mom was too strict so he left with an older friend and now both of them are on the streets eating out of garbage cans. Haven’t had a bath in 2 or 3 weeks. They are hungry, they are sick, their body is decaying from neglect and they still refuse to go to the father’s house where they can find comfort and happiness once again. The reason they won’t go is they are not ready to place themselves under the authority of dad. If someone asked them how they were doing – they would reply, “We are doing great – things couldn’t be better” Hello!
The prodigal reached the point where nothing was worth being away from home. He vowed to submit himself to the rules of the home.
C. The Father Met Him On The Road Home. Luke 15:20 "And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."
1. He forgave him of all. The Heavenly Father will forgive you of all sin.
2. He put a robe on him. The robe covered all. The blood of Christ will cleanse you of all sin. 1 John 1:7, “...and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
3. He put a ring on his finger. That reconfirms sonship.
4. The father put shoes on his feet. Those blistered, bleeding feet that had walked in the ways of the transgressor would now stand in the halls of his father’s home.
5. The fatted calf. Not swine. How long does it take to fatten a calf. It can’t be done overnight, thus, the father was expecting the son home. He was waiting. The father has made preparation for the son’s home coming.
The son’s hunger is now quenched.
His want is satisfied.
He is at the father’s house. The father has received him back home.
Robert Bruce I was king of Scotland during the 12th and 13th Century. He had been at war with the King of England. The King of England sent an army to Robert Bruce’s palace to kill him. Robert Bruce, having suspected what might happen, left his home and fled into the forest. When the army came to the palace and found that their enemy was not there, they got Robert Bruce’s dogs and set them on his trail. Robert Bruce could hear the barking dogs and realized they were his own hounds. He ran and ran. As he did he grew weaker and weaker. The dogs were getting closer. Finally, he came to a crystal clear river in the middle of the forest. He got into the brook and waded down stream for about two miles. After which he climbed out on the bank of the river and sat under a clump of trees. He could hear the dogs barking up stream in confusion, and Robert Bruce escaped.
The application is this: if the hounds of your past are on your trail, if the hounds of sin are gaining on you, and you don’t know what to do, let me tell you about a river. A crystal clear river filled with the blood of the crucified One. “And sinners plunge beneath that flood lose all their guilty stain.”
D. The Attitude Of The Elder Brother. Vs. 25-32.
Lu 15:25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.
26 And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.
27 And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.
28 And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.
29 And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends:
30 But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.
31 And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.
32 It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found. (KJV)
1. He complained that the father had forgiven his brother.
2. He compared, the prodigal with himself.
3. He condemned himself with the same condemnation he had put on his brother.
Who was the first to point out the prodigal’s sin? Not the father, but the brother. It’s always a fellow Christian who starts gossip about a backslidden Christian.
This elder brother is a picture of a carnal church member.
If a drunk came to this service today and walked the aisle falling down in the altar repenting and receiving Christ as Saviour, everyone would rejoice and praise the Lord even if he did smell of vomit, booze, and the stench of the world. However, if one of our regular members fell into sin, nearly all of you would rise up and say, “Kick him out. We don’t want that kind of person in our membership.”
Did you know that the Christian army is the only army that shoots its wounded?
IV. THE LOST SINNER Luke 16:19-31.
Lu 16:19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. (KJV)
A. He Knew He Was Lost, But It Was Too Late. When he admitted he was lost he was already in his place of eternal torment.
“And in hell he lift up his eyes.”
1. His eternity has already been settled.
2. He will never leave that place of torment.
The first three of these stories all have a happy ending. They all live happily ever after.
The sheep is in the fold.
The silver is in the hands of the woman.
The son is rejoicing with his father.
But the lost sinner is in hell. He will be in that place of torment forever and forever.
Are you that lost soul? Will you be in that place of torment forever and forever? You need not be. You can come to Christ today. He will forgive you.
Maybe there are some here who need to come and join this church.
INVITATION
This sermon and thousands of others ara available on a CD Disk that may be purchased for $75.
Beth Haven Baptist Church
PO Box 891523
OKC OK 73189-1523
405-691-8701
This sermon and thousands of others are available on a CD Disk that may be purchased for $75.
If interested contact the above address.
